Though the Past Haunt Me
by Marla Fair
Summary: Laura Ingalls is sure All Hallows Eve is going to spell disaster for her pa. Little does she know her quest to keep him safe will bring danger to them all and open up an old wound long since buried.
1. Chapter 1

ONE

oooooooooo

"Laura Ingalls! What are you doing up there?"

Laura let go of the windowsill and turned to look at her sister. She supposed it was a good thing Mary had come along since her fingers were cramped and her nose was itching from the dust on the sill.

"Watching Ma and Pa."

Mary squinted and looked past her. She couldn't see anything, of course, even though she pretended she could. That's why _she_ had pushed a stool up against the house wall and was standin' on tip-toe looking in.

"They're just finishing up breakfast. What's so interesting about that?"

She didn't understand Mary. Pa and Ma were just, well, their parents to her sister. To her, they were a wonder! She'd watched other people's parents, like the Oleson's, and they didn't behave the same. Pa was always touchin' Ma. Ma loved to put her fingers in his hair. Every once in a while Pa would put his hand on Ma's backside while they were around and she'd smack him – and then he'd take her in his arms and kiss her or lead her toward their room.

She _loved _watching them when they didn't know she was.

"Shows what you know!" was all she said as she stepped down from the stool. It was a good thing too 'cause at that moment Ma came over and opened the window a smidgen to let in the morning air. Ma saw them and smiled and then went back in.

Mary held a bucket in one hand and had the other hand on her hip. "You know, if they sent us outside they probably have something to talk about they don't want us to hear."

Laura's lips quirked up at the ends. "Or Pa just wants to kiss Ma."

Mary rolled her eyes. "He does that in front of us."

Yes, but there was a difference between the way Pa kissed Ma when they were watching, and the way he did it when they _weren't _watching. She liked the second way better – _way_ better!

"Sure, he does. But it's more special when they're alone."

Mary was two years older than her and, at nine, thought she was about the smartest thing ever. She'd won all kinds of contests and had pretty blue and red ribbons hanging on the wall of their loft bedroom with her name on them.

"Of course it's more special when they're alone," she said in that 'I know things you don't know' voice. "Then they don't have to deal with _you!"_

Laura didn't know what to say, so, she just stuck out her tongue.

Mary rolled her eyes. "Children!" she sighed and then she went off to do her chores.

It was early morning. The eggs needed gathered and the chickens fed, the cow was mooing 'cause she wanted milked and Jack was nipping at her heels, wanting attention. She should really get about her chores too, but the mystery that was Ma and Pa alone drew Laura back to the window. Now that it was open, she could listen to them too.

Grownups liked to keep secrets and sometimes the only way to find out what was going on was to drop at that old eave.

Climbing back up onto the stool, Laura parked her nose on the wooden sill again and listened.

"Charles, you aren't really planning on going, are you?" Ma asked as she moved past the table and toward the stove. "Do you just want to borrow trouble?"

"You can't borrow it if it's already your own," Pa replied quietly.

Ma was at the stove. She had the coffee pot in her hand. When she turned back, she kind of looked like she wanted to throw it at him.

"If you were my child, I'd forbid it!"

"Well, then, it's a good thing I'm _not _your child." Pa turned toward her. "Caroline, you know I have to do this."

"But the consequences, Charles! Think of the consequences. Not only to you but to the rest of us."

Ma came back to the table. She stood there for a moment and then poured a new cup for Pa and sat the pot down.

Phew!

Pa took Ma's hand in his own. "Caroline," he said, "now you listen to me. There isn't any danger. The man may have disliked me, but it's only right I go and pay my respects."

Ma's eyebrows shot up. "Disliked? He _hated _you! Why on Earth would you want to go to his funeral?"

Laura raised up on tip-toe so she could see better. She wondered who they were talking about. Her pa was loved by just about everybody – Mrs. Oleson excluded. She couldn't really think of anyone who hated him and especially anybody who was dead.

Pa rose with his coffee cup in hand and began to pace. He did that when he was thinkin' deep about something. For a minute or so he said nothing. He just sipped his coffee. Then, he turned back toward Ma.

"You know that old tree? The twisted old gnarly one by the creek?"

Ma looked confused. "Yes."

"It wasn't always that way."

"No. When we came to Walnut Grove it was flourishing."

"People are like trees, Caroline. They put down roots. Sometimes those roots stretch a little too far and they end up in corruption. Instead of takin' in what they need to keep them healthy, they take in what makes them sick. Ashby Fogg was such a man."

Ashby Fogg?

Laura frowned. Ashby Fogg. She couldn't remember much of anything about the man other than the fact that he'd been around their house when they first came to Walnut Grove and Pa had called him 'Ash'.

That, and he'd scared her.

"Charles! That man suckled on corruption!" Ma declared.

Pa halted. A slight smile curled his lips. "Now, Caroline, where's your Christian charity?"

"Right here!" Ma declared as she near slammed a jar of jam on the table. "At _home_ where it belongs. You know that man threatened you. If you go…if you stand in that church yard…"

Pa crossed over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're not tellin' me that you're worried he's gonna rise up out of the grave and take me? Now, are you?"

Ma leaned her head on Pa's shoulder. "Charles, I…. You know what I'm afraid of. It's like a curse. The man told you he would pay you back if it took all eternity. And now that he's dead…."

Laura's fingers had gone white as bone where they clung to the sill. A curse! Mr. Fogg had put a curse on her Pa and he'd sworn to take his revenge once he was dead!

"Now that he's dead, he can't do anything," Pa said as he moved toward the door.

"Charles, you know that isn't true." Ma was real serious. "There are others. The ones he left behind. They'll come after you."

Pa halted at the door. He was out of sight, but Laura could still hear him.

"If they do, I'll take care of them. Now, you just go about your business and forget all about it."

Ma was walking toward him. "Charles. You can't fight the dead."

The door was opening. Pa spoke as he stepped out. "Maybe not," he said. "But I can die tryin'."

oooooooooo

She'd only had a second, but Laura managed to slip around the side of the house before her pa saw her. She scrounged around for an empty bucket, tossed some grass and other stuff in it, and then came around the corner whistling a tune. Her heart wasn't in it. She was scared for her pa. Not only was Mr. Fogg dead and maybe coming back to get him, but he was doing it today of all days.

On All Hallows Eve.

Now Ma and Pa pretended like they didn't put much stock in All Hallows Eve, but she knew better. When she was real little and they'd been living in Wisconsin, she remembered the nights when Pa and his brothers sat around the fire spinning tales about the spirits that lived in the woods and the tricks they liked to play. Mister Edwards told good stories too, though his were scarier. He talked about spirits haunting the woods and dead men rising from their graves.

Like Ashby Fogg.

As she rounded the corner, Pa stopped to look at her. He'd been heading for the barn.

"What're you up to, Halfpint?" he asked.

"Just doin' my morning chores, Pa," she answered with a forced smile.

Pa looked in her bucket. He frowned. "Seems to me the chickens can find their own grass."

Laura thought fast. "Oh, it's not for the chickens. You know that runt of Whitey's?" Whitey was her cat. "He's been awful cold. I thought I'd build a nest for him."

"A nest for a kitten? Well, that's a new one. Still, I guess warm is warm." Pa looked out over the field. "Where's your sister?"

"Doin' her chores too. Ma said we could go to town later if we got all of them done right away."

Which was a good thing since she had people to find and questions to ask.

Pa nodded absently, like he was thinkin' about something other than what he was talkin' about. "She did, did she? I guess that's all right. You best come back before dark, you hear?"

"How come?"

He looked down at her. "Well, for one thing, I won't be with you. I gotta make a…run to Sleepy Eye."

"Can't it wait?" she asked, hopeful.

"No, it can't."

"What's the other thing?" When Pa grunted a question, she went on. "You said 'for one thing'."

Pa snorted. "I did, didn't I? The other thing is this. It's All Hallows Eve and strange things happen on the day before All Saints Day. I don't want you three roamin' around after dark."

"You mean like ghosts and ghouls?" she asked, astonished that a grown-up would admit they existed.

"I mean like people who believe in them and the funny things they do to stop them," he replied.

"Like what?"

Pa's tugged on one of her braids. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, Half-pint. You just be sure you're home and tucked in bed before the sun goes down. The same goes for your sisters and Ma. You hear? Won't be too long after that I'll be home."

Laura nodded. "Yes, sir."

But that didn't mean she couldn't crawl back out.

Pa took off not too long after that. He put on his best suit and heavy overcoat, his good hat and gloves, saddled one of the horses, and rode out. They hitched the other horse to the wagon and headed to town about the same time. Ma said she wanted to get home before dark.

She didn't say Pa had told her she _had_ to.

Once they got to town Ma went to see Miss Beadle. The Harvest Dance was coming up and she and Miss Beadle were the committee chairs. Mrs. Oleson was on the committee too and Ma said she wasn't lookin' forward to dealing with her and her 'uppity ways'. Then Ma asked them if they had any adhesive tape. When they asked why she wanted to know, Ma said 'because I might need it to tape Mrs. Oleson's mouth shut!'

While Ma went into the schoolhouse, she and Mary went over to the bench under the tree to eat their lunch. Ma had packed it for them and they were both hungry after their morning chores and the long ride into town. In each sack was a sandwich and a big old piece of pie. Laura loved pie about as much as she loved this time of year where the leaves turned from green to gold and red, and the summer wind softened to a cool, crisp breeze that lifted the ends of her pigtails and tossed them in her face.

Well, normally she loved it.

This year was kind of different 'cause she was mighty worried about her pa and his 'run' to Sleepy Eye.

As she munched on her sandwich, Laura looked at her sister. Mary was awful skeptical about anything that didn't have to do with sense and numbers. She doubted her sister believed in ghosts, so she wasn't sure she should say anything.

Still, Mary was older and she might remember….

"Did you see that fog this morning?" Laura asked out of the blue.

Mary eyed her. "What made you think about that?"

"Just that it was so pretty with the light hittin' it and turning it gold." She munched a few seconds. "Do you remember that old man who used to come around our place who had the same name?"

"What old man?"

"His name was Fogg. Albert, maybe? Maybe, Ashley?"

Her sister frowned, thinking. "Oh. You mean Ashby Fogg? He wasn't _that _old."

He seemed old from what she remembered; all gray and bent over like an old man. "He wasn't?"

"He was about fifteen years older than Pa. Probably in his fifties." Mary took a sip of her drink. "What made you think of him?"

"The fog, silly," she lied. "He didn't like Pa much, did he?"

Mary put her cup down and leaned against the tree behind them. "I don't know. You know grown-ups, they don't tell you much." Mary looked toward the schoolhouse. "I do remember the last time I ever saw him that he and Pa got into a row."

"A fight, you mean?"

Her sister nodded. "A _big_ one. Pa was mighty angry. He told Mr. Fogg to get off of his property and never come back."

Laura swallowed her bite of sandwich. "Do you know why?"

Mary shook her head. "No. Ma was cryin'. Pa was really red in the face." She paused. "So was Mr. Fogg. He yelled at Pa. He told him no matter how long it took he would pay him back 'in kind'."

No matter _how _long it took – meaning, even _after _he was dead.

"Do you think anyone else would know anything about it?" Laura asked as she reached for her drink.

"Why do you want to know? Why this sudden interest in Mr. Fogg?" Mary paused. "Did you hear something this morning when you were listening at the window?"

"Of course not. I told you. I just thought about him on account of the fog this morning."

Mary was looking at her. "Right…."

"Why don't you eat your pie instead of staring at me? You're gonna go blind."

The older girl snorted. "Might be worth it if I didn't have to look at you."

Laura was working her way up to a good retort, when a sudden scuffing of stones alerted her to the fact that they were not alone.

"I see you two brought your lunch. I suppose you couldn't afford to buy anything at the store."

Laura let out a sigh before looking up. "Hello, Nellie."

"Hello yourself," the blonde girl replied, her tone uppity as her mother's. "I already ate lunch. We had chicken salad with walnuts and raisins on croissants. Mother served it on china plates, of course, with apple cider in our crystal goblets." Nellie paused, her nose wrinkling as she looked at the remnants of her lunch. "Then again, I suppose it _might have _tasted better wrapped in plain brown paper and served on the grass along with water in a tin cup."

What was left of her piece of pie was in her hand. Laura contemplated – for a moment – shoving it in Nellie's face, but then she heard just about every grown-up she knew talkin' in her head and telling her not to do it.

"Ain't you got something better to do?" Laura asked. _Like maybe take a long walk on a short pier?_

"As you know Mother is part of the committee in charge of the Harvest Dance," Nellie said. "She told me to wait for her out here."

"You mean the committee our Ma is in charge of?" Mary asked innocently.

Good old Mary!

"Well, yes. Mother is in charge of the decorations because _we_ can afford to donate them," Nellie snapped back. "Enough to line the whole hall!"

"It's a good thing you're rich then," Laura replied. "Since no one would want you otherwise."

Mary frowned at her.

She didn't care. Nellie OIeson was like an itch she just _had _to scratch.

"Why you little…. You take that back!"

Laura shot to her feet. "Why? It's the truth. No one can stand your Ma, so she pays for them to be her friends. Just like you!"

"Well, at least my mother never stepped out on my father like yours did!"

She'd had her bluster all built up and ready to blow. What Nellie said took the wind out of her sails.

"Wh…what?"

"I overheard my mother talking to my father – "

"Eavesdropped more like!" Laura shot back, even though it _was _the pot calling the kettle black.

"I don't have to eavesdrop like _certain _people. My mother tells me everything, and she told me that all about the rumors."

"What rumors?" Mary demanded as she too rose to her feet. "You better talk, Nellie, or you'll be dealing with me."

Nellie paled a bit at that.

Mary was taller than her.

"I…I don't know. Really. Mother said that Ashby Fogg hated your pa. That he blamed him for something and it had to do with his wife. When he left town, he swore he'd take his revenge, and now that he's dead…." Nellie paused dramatically.

"Now that Fogg's dead he's gonna come back and take his revenge," Nellie's little brother Willie said, making his presence known. "Old man Fogg is gonna rise up and _kill _your pa!"

Laura closed her eyes as her fingers curled into fists. She wasn't sure which of them she hated the most – Nellie or Willie.

When she opened them, she said, "You take that back, Willie."

"Why? It's true. And it's going to happen _tonight _when the dead walk the Earth looking for souls to take back to Hell with them." Willie squared off. "Your Pa sinned, so they're going to come for him!"

She would have popped him. She was _ready _to pop him. But a voice stopped her.

"Now, what are you lovely children up to?"

It was the Reverend Alden.

Nellie grabbed Willie and forced his arms down. "Why, we were just discussing…the dance. _Right,_ Laura?"

"Sure were," she said.

The reverend was looking from one of them to the other. "Is that all? You look rather upset."

"We're just worried about things getting done on time," Mary added. "In fact, we were just getting ready to go inside and offer to help with the decorating. Weren't we, Laura?"

She nodded – even though it was such an out and out lie that she felt bad using it in front of the pastor.

"I see," the reverend said in such a way that told her he 'did' see. "I think that is a lovely idea. Mary, why don't you take Nellie and Willie with you and see if you can be of any help to your mothers." His hand came down on her shoulder. "I'd like to talk to Laura a moment. Then I will send her inside."

_Now_ she'd bought it!

As Laura watched the other children head toward the schoolhouse, the reverend gave a little push with his hand, heading her toward the bench beneath the tree.

"You seem upset," he said to her as they sat down.

She decided a part of the truth was the best. "It's just Nellie. You know how she is."

"Yes, and I know how _you_ are. Who started it?"

"Well, she was being mean, but then…I was mean back."

"And things only got worse."

"Yes, sir." Laura paused. "She…Nellie said some things about Pa. She got me mad."

The reverend smiled. "First of all, no one can make you mad. You do that to yourself and, may I said, you are quite good at it! However, Nellie should not have been telling tales. What did she say?"

What should _she _say? Maybe – again – a portion of the truth?

"She was talking about pa and Mr. Fogg."

The older man sighed. "Oh. That again? It always comes up this time of year."

"How come I haven't ever heard of it before?"

"You were very young and I doubt if Mary remembers anything."

"What happened?"

The reverend paused. "Ashby Fogg believed, and wrongly I might add, that your father was interested in his wife. He made certain…assertions…that were untrue. Sadly, there were people who believed them."

"What 'assertions'?"

"It doesn't matter. They were untrue."

She thought a moment. "Is that why he hates…hated Pa?"

"So you've heard the man has died?"

Laura nodded. "Pa took off this morning to go to Sleepy Eye. He said it was for a run, but he was wearin' his best clothes. I think he went to Mr. Fogg's funeral."

"Oh, I see. Oh dear…." The older man drew a breath and then brightened. "That was certainly a Christian thing for your father to do."

She chewed the inside of her mouth for what seemed a minute before asking, "Reverend Alden, do you believe the dead can walk?"

He was surprised. "Why would you ask such a thing?"

Laura shrugged. "Jesus did, and so did all those other people who were raised when He was. Hundreds of them."

"Well, yes, but that was a special circumstance. Laura, the dead stay dead until they are resurrected in Christ – if they believe."

"But what about the ones who don't? Don't they go to Hell? Aren't they demons?" Her brain was churning now. Pa had called Mr. Fogg a 'demon'. "Jesus talked to demons all the time. He cast them out."

The reverend was silent a moment. "I won't deny there are demons, but they aren't men, Laura. They are spirits who owe their allegiance to the Devil."

Just like Ma said Mr. Fogg did. And Mr. Fogg was dead, so he was a spirit now.

"Laura!"

They both looked up. Her ma was standing on the steps of the schoolhouse.

"Yes, Ma?" she asked as she stood.

"If the reverend is done with you, I could use your help," Ma called back.

Laura turned to the older man. "Are you? Done with me, I mean?"

He nodded, but then caught her by the shoulder before she could go. "All this talk of demons and spirits, Laura, is it due to the time of year or something else?"

She shrugged. "Just the time of year, I guess."

The reverend shook his head. "Now don't you go listening to old wives tales such as Tabitha Hitchcock spreads around. She's an old woman full of superstition. Why, she'd tell you she had a charm to protect you from just about anything, including your ghosts and goblins!"

"Sure thing, Reverend Alden," she replied.

On her way to the steps, Laura considered how she could manage to get away for an hour or so.

Tabitha Hitchcock lived just outside of town and she really needed to pay her a call!


	2. Chapter 2

TWO

oooooooooo

It took some doing, but she managed to slip away. It was about halfway through the afternoon and Ma needed something from the store. While she could have run her errand in a half-hour or so, she knew Ma knew she dawdled and dragged her heels, so she figured she could get by with an hour or maybe more. Miss Hitchcock lived at the edge of town, way back in the woods. She didn't like people much, so she'd only seen her a couple of times in her life. All the kids said she was really old – hundreds of years maybe. She had white hair that went all the way down her back that she wore in a long braided tale, and really pale eyes that were not gray but not quite blue and looked like a wolf's. She was what people called a 'spinster', which meant she'd never married. It was kind of funny, 'cause the few times she _had _seen her, Miss Tabitha had been in the Oleson's store trading Lindsey-Woolsey cloth for what she needed, so she really _did_ spin.

The older kids said she came from New England and was a witch.

Now, she didn't believe in witches. Not really. Her pa told her that people were mean and used names meant to hurt and that, when they didn't understand a person, they would 'label' them. Lots of old ladies who lived alone, who had white hair and funny eyes, got called 'witches'.

Still, she was kind of hoping it was true. A witch would know what she needed to do.

The day was growing dark with an approaching storm and the wind was whistling through the trees by the time she arrived. Leaves broke free of their bony branches to dance at her feet as she walked the overgrown stone path that led to the front door of Miss Hitchcock's place. It was a small house with a stone bottom and a wood top. Pa said the stones were a foundation like they laid in the thirteen colonies on account of they had so much of it. The windows were round, which was kind of funny too, and looked like ship portholes.

She'd seen those in the picture books.

All in all it was pretty scary walking up to the fat little door in the stone house with the funny windows, but she was determined to do it. If anybody would know how to stop that mean old Mr. Fogg's spirit from comin' after Pa, she'd bet it was New England's Miss Tabitha Hitchcock.

Laura drew a breath, sucked in her fear, and knocked on the door.

For a minute there was nothing. Just the wind howling through the trees. Then she heard a strange sound. Sort of a 'click', followed by a long shuffle or drag. She'd fallen one time on the other side of the barn and hurt her leg and had to drag herself into the open where Ma could hear her.

It kind of reminded her of that.

The sound repeated for what seemed like forever and then there was another 'click'. This time it was a key in the lock. Then the door creaked and opened inward.

Even though it was day, it was dark inside. Maybe on account of those funny small round windows.

"Who is it?" a sharp voice demanded.

She wanted to run but, for Pa, she held her ground.

"Laura Ingalls, ma'am."

"Ingalls, eh?" The woman paused. "One of Charles and Caroline Ingalls' girls?"

"The middle one. Yes, ma'am."

There was another pause. Then a chuckle. "Ma'am," the woman repeated. Then she spoke again. "And what brings you to my door, middle child of Charles and Caroline Ingalls?"

She didn't know exactly how to put it. "Well, ma'am, I need some information and I think you might have it. At least, I hope you do."

"Information? About what?"

Laura chewed her lip. How should she put it?

"About…today, ma'am. About All Hallows Eve."

The door opened a little wider. She could see the woman now, silhouetted against the fire that burned within. Her hair was a silver halo that eclipsed her face. She wore a gray wool shawl over the top of a home-spun dress of olive green linen. The only thing Laura could see clearly was the old woman's hand where it gripped the ball handle of her cane. It was dried up like an old apple. She could see the veins through her skin.

Again, the woman chuckled. Then she backed away from the door.

"Will you walk into my parlor?" she asked, her voice soft as the brush of slippers on stone.

Laura swallowed hard. She knew that poem. The next part read, '_said a Spider to a Fly, tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy. The way into my parlour is up a winding stair, and I have many pretty things to shew when you get there.'_

"Are you afraid, child?"

She shook her head. "No, ma'am."

"Then, won't you come in?"

As she crossed the threshold, Laura's eyes went wide. Miss Tabitha's house was filled with all manner of unusual things. The first one she noticed was a great big old white owl with its wings spread wide. At first she thought it was alive, but then she realized it had been stuffed. Next to it was a black cat.

She jumped when it moved.

"Sadie, come here," Miss Hitchcock cooed and the cat responded, leaping from the table to the floor and coming to wind between her feet. "This is one of my children," the old lady said as she petted its head. "The other is Sylvester. He's hiding." She looked right at her. "He doesn't like strangers."

Laura could see her clearly now. Miss Tabitha must have been a pretty woman once, though she was all shriveled up now like dried rose hips. Her face wasn't mean, but it was what Ma would have called 'closed', like she was waiting for someone to hurt her. There was a gold chain around her neck and a locket at the end of it.

Laura wondered whose picture it held.

"Sit down, child," Miss Tabitha said. "Would you like some tea?"

"No, Ma'am," she answered as she sat. "My Ma is expecting me and I need to go as soon as I ask my questions."

The old lady sat down. Immediately Sadie jumped onto her lap. She was a small black cat with big green eyes and as she settled, she turned those eyes on her.

"Oh, yes. About All Hallows Eve."

Laura nodded. As she did, her eyes continued to roam around the room. There were a lot of books and some funny looking metal things hanging on the walls. In one corner there was a big old net spread out like a spider's web.

'_Come into my parlour…._'

"Yes, ma'am."

"Tabitha, child. I'm too old for 'miss' and far too young for 'ma'am'."

She didn't know what her Ma would think about that, but….

"Okay. Ma'am…Tabitha…I need to know about All Hallows Eve."

"And what about it in particular?" the old lady asked as she continued to stroke Sadie's fur.

"About how…well…if you know someone…." Laura cleared her throat. "Is there any way to keep a dead spirit from coming into a house?"

"Why? Do you have one you think is going to come calling tonight?"

She nodded.

"I see. Have you talked to your parents about this?"

"Oh, no, ma'am…Tabitha! Ma would never hear of it. She's a Christian."

The older woman blinked and then laughed. "I see. While I – as a heathen – would be more accepting."

Maybe that wasn't so good. Maybe she'd insulted her.

It probably wasn't good to insult a witch.

She started to apologize, but Tabitha held up a hand to stop her. "I do have certain knowledge of arcane matters, but it comes at a price. What do you have to pay my fee?"

Laura drew in a little breath. She hadn't thought of that!

"I don't…have any money."

"Now, what would I do with money? I have everything I need." The older woman studied her a moment. "You look like a good strong sturdy child. My price is this. The day after tomorrow you will return."

"And?"

Tabitha smiled – well, sort of. The smile was only in her eyes.

"I will tell you then."

Laura thought a moment. It was pretty scary to consider what the old woman might want, but saving her pa was more important than anything else in the world – even her life.

"You got yourself a deal," she said.

Tabitha leaned back in her chair. Sadie was asleep and purring now. "Tell me, Laura, what you want to know."

She remembered the old stories. Tonight was All Hallows Eve; the day when the veil between their world and the otherworld went all thin and things could slip through. If Mr. Fogg was a spirit walking, then tonight would be the best chance he would have of finding and hurting Pa.

"I need to know how to get rid of a bad spirit, or at least keep it out of the house," she said.

The chair the old woman had taken a seat in was a rocking one. As she thought, she began to move it forward and back. It creaked in tandem with the sound of Sadie's purring.

"Where I come from, the ancient traditions hold sway; traditions centuries old. My people came from Ireland and believed in the faerie folk and the spirits of the dead rising." The old woman looked at her. "Do you believe?"

Laura's eyes were wide.

She nodded.

"Then there are things you must do. Tonight, when the sun is down and the moon rises, you must be sure no fire is lit in the fireplace."

"How come?"

"It draws the spirits, child. You must light it instead outside, where the fire's light will reach into the sky, bringing the day into the night. The spirits can't abide it."

That wasn't gonna be easy. Ma sure did like the house to be warm.

"What else?"

"You must turn all your mirrors to the wall, for that's a way they can enter. Close your windows too, for they ride the night air."

"…okay."

"Leave a plate of food outside your door to satisfy the spirit's hunger. Then, you must invite Jack in and place him in your window."

"Jack? My dog?"

Tabitha laughed. "Jack of the lantern, child. A will-o-the wisp. You must carve a pumpkin to look like him."

She hadn't known that was what the pumpkin was for. "We already have one of those."

"Good girl. Then you must place a candle at its heart and put it in your window overnight to chase away the spirits who seek entry." The old woman paused. "Is there one in particular you're frightened of?"

She nodded.

"Name it, child. It will take some of its power away."

Laura chewed her lip. "It's Ashby…Ashby Fogg."

Tabitha was silent for a moment. Then, she nodded. "A spirit like as to cause trouble as any now that he is in the grave."

"You knew him?"

"I did."

The old woman rose from her chair and went to her hearth. When she returned, she held out her hand. In it was a strange small item. It looked something like a whirligig, but wasn't. The center was square and the arms looked like the ends of brooms.

"Hang this above the door of your house. It will ward off evil."

Laura took it and placed it in the pocket of her apron.

"Now, you had best get on your way. The day is waning."

She looked out the window. It was growing dark, though she hoped that was because of the approaching storm and not because she'd been gone that long.

Shooting to her feet, Laura curtsied. "Thank you, Miss Tabitha. "

The older woman moved to the door and opened it. "I'll expect you back, night after this for my payment."

She'd forgotten about that!

"I'll be here."

"And Laura, one more thing."

She was halfway out the door. She turned back. "Yes?"

"I forgot to mention the most powerful charm of all."

Laura's fingers closed around the one she had in her pocket. "What's that?"

The old woman's eyes sparked in the dying light.

"Pray!"

oooooooooo

Boy, was Ma riled with she got back to the schoolhouse. Not only had she been gone too long, but Ma was worried on account of the storm. She'd wanted to head for home early.

Now, the problem with lying was that once you told one lie you just had to go right on fibbing in order to make it work. She told Ma she'd run into Mr. Edwards, and then had to explain just how she'd run into him _after _he'd come to the schoolhouse and talked to Ma about layin' in the wood needed for the dance. Then she had to explain how he'd been at the mercantile because he was picking up a new axe head so he could cut the wood. She was hoping Ma wouldn't ask Mister Edwards about the axe head since that was a thing men talked about. Then she told Ma how she'd started back to the schoolhouse, but remembered she'd left something and had to go back to the mercantile to get it. When her Ma asked her what, she told her it was her shoes. She'd taken them off so she could run a race and left them behind. Then, of course, she had to explain who she'd been racing and why, and on and on and on it went.

She was gonna go to Hell for sure before she was seven!

Now they were home – all of them. Pa had come in drenched to the skin and lookin' like a wet muskrat. Ma was all worried about him, so she'd made him put on dry clothes and then lit a great big roaring fire and told him sit by it so he could warm up. Laura was sitting at the supper table staring at it, thinking about what Miss Tabitha had said and waiting for the spirit of that awful Ashby Fogg to come flyin' out of the fireplace and take Pa by the throat!

The little brown-haired girl turned to look at the window. Outside the night was pitch-black. The storm had come and gone, but it had left a strong wind behind and it was howling. The trees were bending in the wind and the sky was spitting bits of ice now and then that struck the panes like bony knuckles. The jack-o-lantern they'd carved was in place but his face was black. Ma had lit the fire but not the candle in his skull. And, so far, she hadn't had a chance to put the funny wicker thing over the door or to turn the mirrors to the wall or to put out a plate of food on the stoop like Miss Tabitha said to keep out Mr. Fogg's angry wanderin' spirit.

Mr. Fogg was gonna get Pa for sure!

Rising to her feet, Laura proclaimed, "I'm gonna go check on Whitey's kitten."

"You will do no such thing, young lady!" her ma declared as she left pa's side. "You'll get soaked to the skin and catch your death."

"I won't. I promise!" Laura stopped and thought furiously. "Pa said the animals needed checking after the storm and you don't want him to get wet again. Do you?"

She winced waiting for the explosion.

"I did say that, Caroline," Pa said quietly.

"She's a child, Charles!"

Pa was lookin' right at her. Kind of funny-like.

"You got a good reason you want to go outside, Half-pint?" he asked. "Other than doin' my chores?"

"I'm worried about Whitey's kitten," she said and meant it, though that wasn't her real reason. "Can I go see if he's okay?"

"You put on your slicker," Pa said. "And you come right back in."

"Yes, sir."

Whew!

Before she pulled on her slicker, Laura checked her right apron pocket to make sure the wicker thing was there. Then she checked the left one for the cookies she'd sneaked earlier.

She sure hoped that that old Mr. Fogg's spirit didn't care they were kind of smashed.

As she came to the door, she stopped. Trying to sound like it really didn't matter, Laura asked, "Ma, when are you gonna light Mr. Jack? All Hallows Eve is almost over."

Her mother was drying her pa's hair with a towel. She looked up. "Oh. I didn't think about it. Mary, can you do that?"

Mary was reading a book to Carrie. She nodded. "In just a minute."

Laura pulled her slicker up over her head.

One down. Three to go!

Once outside, Laura gathered the cloth up close about her throat. It was a cold, bitter night and the wind was biting. All the way to the barn she thought about how in the world she could light a bonfire to bring the day to the night. The wind would just put it out. As she thought about it, her eyes alighted on a lantern sitting on the table in the barn. Maybe that would do. Inside the barn it would have a chance of staying lit.

She'd just have to hope neither ma or pa looked out to see it.

After she'd checked on Whitey's kitten and the other stock – so she wouldn't add one _more _lie to her already long list – Laura lit the lantern and left it on the table and then headed back to the house. She glanced in the window when she got there – past old Mr. Jack who was winking at her – and was relieved to see that Pa wasn't in front of the fire. In fact, he wasn't anywhere to be seen, so that probably meant he had gone to bed and Ma would be soon to follow. Laura looked up just in time to see her sister's foot disappear at the top of the loft ladder.

Everyone was going to bed!

Hopping down, Laura took the stool and shifted it over to the door and then stood as tall as she could and lodged the funny wicker thing above the lintel. Then she stepped off and bent over and lined the threshold on the outside with what was left of the cookies she'd snatched. As she opened the door, she looked back to make sure the lantern was still burning. Something shifted beside the barn, deep in the shadows. She couldn't make out what it was and, for a second, she was terrified into inaction. Then she opened the door and ran inside and shut it tight.

"Time for bed, Laura," her mother said as she rounded the table.

"Yes, ma'am. Is everyone else in bed?"

Ma nodded. "I expect you to do the same."

"Sure thing, Ma," Laura said as she hung her slicker by the door and headed for the loft ladder. "See you in the morning."

oooooooooo

She didn't fall asleep, of course.

She had one more thing to do.

After the house had fallen silent and Ma and Pa had stopped talking, Laura climbed out of bed and headed down the stairs. Ma had banked the fire at the back of the hearth so it would be ready in the morning. The coals were still alive, so it cast an orange glow throughout the room, dancing over the floorboards and reflecting off the bubbling glass in the window. The fire went out on its own sometimes due to the wind and rain, so she hoped no one would figure out what she had done. Taking a poker, Laura separated the coals and then, using a pitcher she had filled with water in the kitchen, put them out.

For a second darkness filled the room. Then, with a start, the little girl realized the orange glow had not gone away. Beyond Mr. Jack, it looked like the world was on fire.

Slowly, as if she already knew what she would find, Laura tip-toed over to the window and looked out.

Her heart nearly stopped.

The barn was on fire.


	3. Chapter 3

THREE

oooooooooo

Pa was laying on the ground covered in smoke and soot and breathing hard. Ma was bending over him, talking to him fast and low. All around them the farm animals milled, surging in an unending tide: mooing and braying and neighing with fright. At the end, she and her sisters had been confined to the porch for fear a part of the blackened structure would fall on them. Laura lifted her tear-streaked eyes to look at what was left of their barn. Pa had worked so hard to build it. He'd managed to save most of it, but the back end – where she'd left that darn lantern – was gone.

She didn't know yet if Whitey or her kittens had made it out.

"What do you suppose happened?" Ma asked as she helped Pa to sit up. She held him when a fit of coughing took him. "It's all right, Charles. Don't try to talk."

Pa had tears streaking down his sooty face. He held real still, sucked air in through his nose, and then answered. "I'm…not sure. I smelled oil…but I'm sure…." He coughed again. "I'm sure I…put the lantern out before I…left the barn."

Laura chewed her lip, her conscience fighting with her fear. She knew better than to leave a lamp glowin' when she wasn't in the barn. Anything could have happened. One of the horses could have kicked it over, or maybe the cow. Even Whitey could of rubbed against it and sent it to the floor.

Laura sucked in a sob.

Whitey.

Pa was on his feet now, leaning hard on Ma as they made their way toward the house. Tears filled her eyes as she watched them. Here she was worried about an old cat when her pa could have been killed! She'd held her breath when she saw him go rushin' into the barn so he could save the animals.

Old Mister Fogg didn't need to come back to life. She'd just about done his work for him!

"Laura?"

The little girl sniffed and then looked at her sister. "Yeah?"

"You look awful upset."

"Well, of course I'm upset!" she snapped. "Pa's hurt and Whitey's missing and it's all my…."

Laura paled.

"It's all your _what?"_ Mary's blue eyes were pinned on her. "Laura, did you have something to do with the fire? I know you weren't in bed for a while. I figured you were getting a snack." Her sister frowned. "Were you doing something else?"

Her jaw was tight. She fought back tears.

"Tell me the truth, Laura. Did you leave that lantern burning?"

Every possible lie ran through her head like the wind through the autumn leaves. She wanted to reach up and snatch one of them like a leaf off a branch and offer it to her sister.

But she couldn't.

With another sniff, she nodded her head.

Mary was silent for a long time. "You going to have to tell Pa. You know that, don't you?"

Laura nodded again. "But let me do it. Don't you go telling him!"

"I don't know…."

"I'll do it before bed tonight. I promise! _Please,_ Mary, let me tell him. I need to tell him why I did it."

"And why did you do it?"

What could she say – what _would _she say to Pa? He was gonna be mighty upset. They were heading into winter when there weren't any crops and there wasn't much work at the mill. It would be cold and snowy soon and the animals would have to have shelter. Pa was gonna have to repair the barn and he was hurt.

A tear streamed down her cheek.

"Laura?"

"I'll tell you after I tell Pa. I promise." She paused. "Mary, you gotta promise too. You gotta promise me you'll let_ me_ tell!"

Mary twisted her lips. She was thinking. "Okay. But if you don't tell him tonight, I will. That's a promise too."

Laura nodded. "Thanks, Mary."

As she watched her sister enter the house, the little girl blew out a breath.

She might _just _get let out of the house by Christmas!

oooooooooo

It had been about three in the morning when the fire started, so Ma let them all sleep in. By morning she was feeling really silly. All Hallows Eve had come and gone and it was now All Saints Day and no walking spirit had shown up. Then again, she had lit the fire and put out the cookies and hung that little wicker thing above the door. Maybe Miss Tabitha knew what she was talking about.

Somehow she didn't think that explanation was gonna hold water with her pa.

He'd worked hard all morning clearing away the charred beams and burnt wall boards of the barn. Mister Edwards had come by and he'd helped Pa put a tarp over the end that was open so the animals would stay warm and dry. Whitey and her kitten still hadn't shown up and she guessed if they died then that was her punishment from God for believing in Old Wives tales. She cried and cried and cried while she was out doin' her chores, but wiped her face with her apron before she went in for supper. Mary'd looked at her at the supper table and she rolled her eyes and whispered 'I promise' and she meant it. But every time she opened her mouth nothing came out. Now it was dark and almost time for bed and she was runnin' out of time.

Crossing over to the window, Laura looked out. Pa was in the barn again, working. He'd looked so tired when he headed out. He was still coughing and Ma was worried he was gonna come down with somethin' bad. She'd offered to help him, but he told her it was too cold and to stay in the house.

Fortunately, Ma didn't hear him.

"Can I go out and help Pa?" she asked.

Ma pushed a lock of hair out of her eyes as she turned from the dry sink. She looked toward the door and sighed. "I don't know about helping your father," she said as she came toward her. "But maybe you could talk him into coming inside."

"Did you try?" she asked.

Ma nodded. "He's sick. It's not bad, but it could be if he doesn't rest." Ma walked over to the window. "I'm afraid he won't stop until the barn is rebuilt."

"Mister Edwards said he was gonna help.

"If your father will let him. That man! I don't think there's a more stubborn and prideful one on the face of the Earth!"

"Pa's worried about the winter, isn't he? I mean, about taking care of the animals?"

"And us. You know without those animals we can't survive."

She knew and she felt awful bad.

It was _all _her fault.

"So can I? Go out?"

"Bundle up. And don't stay out too long."

"What if Pa won't come in?"

Her mother looked toward the barn again and sighed. "I'll get the mustard plasters ready."

oooooooooo

By the time Laura reached the barn, it was dark. The air was really cold and it made her shiver, but she tried to hide it as she opened the door and looked in. Pa was sitting on a partially burnt bale of hay. He was starin' at the tarp that covered the back of the barn.

Laura swallowed over her guilt and fear and said, "Pa?"

He turned to look at her. "What're you doin' out here? I thought I told you to stay inside."

"Ma sent me," she said and was glad it wasn't a lie. "She wants you to come in. She's worried you'll get sick."

"Well, I want to make sure the animals don't get sick," he growled. "You go back in."

"Pa."

"Don't argue. You do what I say."

"Pa, I…." She cleared her throat. "I _gotta _talk to you."

He swiveled until he was facing her. "About what?"

"About the fire, sir."

His brows popped up at the 'sir'.

"I see." Pa drew in a breath and coughed. He hesitated a moment before saying, "So what have you got to tell me?"

It was now or never.

"I…sort of started it."

His eyes narrowed. "Just how did you 'sort of' start it? Were you outside after dark without permission?"

That was _one_ of the list of her many sins.

"Yes, sir. I was…." She drew in a breath. Now that she had to put it into words, it sounded really silly. "I was worried Ashby Fogg's spirit was gonna rise up out of the grave and come to the house and try to kill you."

Pa's lips wrinkled. "So you burned the barn down to stop him?"

A tear streaked down her cheek. She nodded.

Pa ran a hand over his face and let out a sigh. "Maybe you better start at the beginning."

It all rolled out after that – how she'd been eavesdropping and overheard him and Ma talking, how she'd talked to the Reverend and he had mentioned Miss Tabitha knowing all about spirits and All Hallows Eve and things; about how Miss Tabitha told her she should put out the fire inside and light one outside to draw the bad spirits away from the house and leave cookies on the porch and such. All the while she was talkin' Pa just stared at her like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Or maybe, like he was thinkin' about something other than what he heard.

Laura took a deep breath and finished. "And that's how it happened, Pa. I'm real sorry. I'll take whatever punishment you give me and won't complain."

Pa blinked and let out a sigh. "It'll take a while to figure out just how many punishments you deserve."

"I know, sir," she said. "I sinned an awful lot."

He thought a moment and then gestured her over. "Come here, Half-pint. Sit by me."

She thought it was kind of strange. Pa didn't seem angry as much as, well, disappointed.

Of course, that was worse.

As she sat beside him, he linked his hands together and leaned forward with them between his legs.  
"So which 'sin' do you think was the worst?"

She puzzled about that one. There were so many. "Leaving the lantern lit?"

"And why did you do that?"

"Cause Miss Tabitha told me too." Laura chewed her lip. "So maybe disobeying Ma and going to see her?"

"Maybe? Why'd you do _that?"_

"Well, sir, I thought she'd know how to stop old Mister Ashby's ghost."

"And just why did you think his ghost would be comin' after me?"

This was getting difficult.

"Because…because I listened when I shouldn't have?"

Pa snorted. "You're getting' close."

She thought furiously. What else _was_ there?

Then, she had it.

"Because I thought I knew better than you and Ma?"

"Laura," Pa said as he circled her shoulders with his arm. "That's the original sin. Wantin' to be God. Thinkin' we know best. If you had done what you were told, none of this would have happened."

She dropped her head. "Yes, sir."

Pa fell silent for a moment, like he was thinking of something – maybe how to punish her. Then he said, "You didn't start the fire."

Her head came up and her eyes went wide. "I didn't? I mean…. Yes, I did!"

He laid his hand on her head. "No, you didn't. That oil I smelled? It wasn't lamp oil. It was turpentine."

It took her a moment. "You mean someone tried to burn the barn down on _purpose?" _

"It looks that way." Pa thought a moment. "You said you went to see Miss Tabitha, right?"

She nodded. "I know I shouldn't have, but I was just so worried about that mean old Mr. Ashby. I was sure he was gonna hurt you."

"Now, I think your Ma and me raised you better than that," he said. "You know the dead don't walk."

"But the Bible says…."

"That those alive in Him will rise when Jesus returns." Pa's lips curled with a little smile. "I can just about guarantee you Ashby Fogg won't be among them."

"What happened, Pa? How come he hated you so?"

Those green eyes of his pinned her. "What have you heard?"

She swallowed. "Only what Nellie said."

"And what did Nellie say?"

She couldn't meet his eyes. "It wasn't very nice."

"Nice or not, I want you to tell me."

"She said Mister Fogg hated you 'cause you..stepped out on Ma with his wife."

Pa stared at her for a few seconds then rose to his feet. "Did Miss Tabitha say anything?"

"No, but I don't think she liked him much."

"Maybe not," he said as he stopped by the door and looked out toward the house. "But she loved him."

"I don't understand, Pa," she said as she joined him. "How can you love someone if you don't like them?"

He pursed his lips. "I don't know that it's my tale to tell."

"Is it Miss Tabitha's then?" she asked.

Pa smiled. It was that kind of smile that had happiness and sadness in it. After a moment he nodded his head. "I think you're right."

"I forgot. I was supposed to go see her tonight," she said and then winced. "I promised her I would for her helping me keep Mister Fogg's spirit away. I owe her."

Pa placed his hand on her head again. He nodded as if, somehow, everything made sense.

"I think you and me will go see her together, Half-pint. There's nothing the Devil likes more than keeping things in the dark." Pa looked at the charred boards still standin' near the back of the barn. He shook his head. "God works in mysterious ways.

Laura let out a sigh.

He sure did!


	4. Chapter 4

EPILOGUE

oooooooooo

"What are you looking at?" a weary voice asked her.

Laura was laying on the floor of the loft with her nose hanging over the edge. Pa had just come in after two days of being gone. He dropped his hat on the chair by the door and hung his coat on a peg and went to stand by the fire. It was snowing again and he'd been all the way to Sleepy Eye and back. Miss Tabitha got her grandson to tell what he'd done and Pa had to go and tell what had happened to the circuit judge.

He looked awful tired.

Ma was asleep and so was Carrie.

"Laura?"

"Just go to sleep, Mary," she said.

"That's what I'm trying to do. Why are you laying on the floor?"

"On account of I'm hot. Now, go to sleep!"

"You're not hot, you're crazy" Mary yawned and turned over toward the wall. "Wake me up when you make some sense."

Laura laid there watching her pa. He opened the box with his tobacco and packed some in his pipe. Then he lit it with a taper from the fire and puffed away.

After about a minute, he looked up and said, "Come on down, Half-pint. I know you're awake."

How did grown-ups do that?!

It didn't take her long to climb down the ladder. When she got to the bottom she went right over to him and hugged his legs hard. Pa chuckled a bit at that and then sat in the rocker by the fire. He put his pipe down on the hearthstones and pulled her onto his knee.

"How's my best girl?" he asked.

That made her giggle. Whenever one of them was alone with Pa, _they_ were always his 'best' girl."

"I'm fine, Pa. I finished all my extra chores."

"I saw that. The barn is looking mighty fine. I guess that's what happens when a feller takes a few days off."

Mister Edwards and some of them men from the town had come over and finished fixing it while Pa was gone. She'd helped them and she'd also done all the chores Pa had set for her as her 'punishment'. She didn't mind. Most of them she enjoyed. And if she went to bed a little tired, well, that was fine.

And, best of all, Whitey and her kittens had come back!

"Did you see Hampton Fogg?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yes, I did. He was none too happy to see me."

"Is he just like his pa?"

"He's young. I think he's like his pa 'cause he can't stand to think his pa wasn't the best kind of a man. The judge let him off with a fine."

"You mean he's free? Pa, he could come here and try to – "

"Now, don't you go startin' that again. He was released into Tabby's custody. She's take care of him."

"You mean he's going to live here? In Walnut Grove?"

Pa was looking at her. "What's the Good Book say about forgiveness?"

She knew what he meant. "As you forgive, so shall you be forgiven."

"So…?"

"So I have to forgive Hampton." She thought a minute. "Does that mean I have to forgive Mister Fogg too?"

He nodded. "It ain't easy. It took me a long time. Ashby hurt your ma and, well, ended a beautiful life. God took him and I'm not sorry He did." Pa let out a little sigh. "But I am sorry he went with all his sins on his head. That's a far worse punishment than anything the law or I could have given."

"So, maybe, Miss Tabitha can keep Hampton from followin' in his pa's footsteps?"

"We can only hope…and pray," he replied.

"Charles? I thought I heard you."

They both turned to find Ma coming out of the back bedroom.

"I'm home," he said.

"How did it go?"

"Hampton's gonna live with Miss Tabitha," Laura said. "She's really nice."

"I stopped at her place on the way back," Pa said. "She came ahead of Hampton. He has to stay in jail a few days until the paperwork clears."

"How is she?" Ma asked as she came over to run her fingers through pa's hair, like she had to touch him to make sure he was really there.

"Full of piss and vinegar," he said – and then he tickled her – "Just like this little one here!"

"Charles! You'll wake the girls."

Pa looked at Ma. For a second, he looked like a little boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Then he grinned.

"Mary! Carrie! Wake up! Come here and give your Pa a goodnight kiss!"

"Charles!"

Mary's head appeared at the top of the ladder. A second later, Carrie came bounding out of her room. Soon Pa was surrounded, like the cavalry by Indians, and all of them were whooping and hollering as they kissed and hugged him.

Ma let it go a minute before she said in her best school marm voice, "That's quite enough. I will never get anybody out of bed in the morning and the chores won't do themselves!"

Pa put her down and rose to his feet. He kissed each of them on the head and told them to go to bed – and then picked Ma up and headed for their room.

"For Heaven's sake, Charles," Ma pretended to protest. "What will the children think?"

Laura didn't have to think. She'd just wait a minute and then put her head to the floor.

And start droppin' those eaves again.


End file.
